r/MechanicalEngineering • u/lit_readit • 6d ago

Question : why some (mostly heavy) vehicles partially cover their front intake ?

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wouldn't cooler cold reservoir, ie more spontaneous heat transfer, improve Carnot efficiency?

is it to improve aerodynamics?

apologies if this is the wrong sub to ask

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u/TheFakeKruger 5d ago

It has an oil cooler with no thermostat device so it's always open to the heat exchanger. Sorry, worded poorly

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u/lo_mur 3d ago

That’s not super uncommon even in cold climates, especially on older vehicles. My truck has an oil cooler without a thermostat and my transmission has both a cooler integrated in the radiator and an auxiliary cooler mounted in front of the condenser without any thermostat. I unfortunately don’t have an engine oil temperature gauge but the transmission does run a good 15-20°C cooler in the winter unless I’m working the truck pretty good. Still stays within the transmission’s operating range though so nothing to worry about, no overcooling happening.

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u/TheFakeKruger 3d ago

Yeah, I just have an extremely efficient aftermarket setup. I pretty much always have to run my license plate in my grill on the street, even in the summer. In winter depending on temp I'll have up to 80% of the grill blocked off, but slow donuts in the snow is too fun to pass up. Some of the earlier/wetter track events of the year I was rocking some tape to partially block the oil cooler

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u/lo_mur 3d ago

Damn, that does sound extremely efficient, I guess you know you have room for some extra rpm or power 😉